PROFILE

Krista Mehari, Ph.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology and Human Development at Vanderbilt University and a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Mehari’s work focuses on improving the safety and well-being of youth from minoritized groups in overburdened, underresourced communities, with a specific focus on youth violence and firearm injury prevention. She leverages participatory action research to partner with communities with the goal of improving the impact and relevance of school- and community-based violence prevention and positive youth development strategies.

Dr. Mehari has a strong interest in social-cultural factors that predict or prevent youth violence. Another interest is the effective and culturally responsive measurement of violence and associated predictors. Her work has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the John Templeton Foundation, the Government of India, the Walmart Foundation, and others. Dr. Mehari graduated with a B.A. from Hope College in 2005. She earned an M.S. in clinical psychology in 2011 and a Ph.D. in clinical psychology in 2015, both from Virginia Commonwealth University. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. She was an assistant professor at University of South Alabama prior to transitioning to Vanderbilt University.